“President Aquino has been getting good publicity in the Kingdom and Saudi authorities have been following up the good developments in the Philippines under his leadership,” said Francisco “Boy” Naval, chairman of the United Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), which boasts 8,800 members.
Naval, who is also an engineer, made the statement ahead of a meeting on Tuesday between Aquino and OFW representative Elmer S. Aquino, who will try to convince the president to visit Saudi Arabia while it was still early in his presidency. Aquino is chairman of the United OFW Cooperative.
“The reasons for the visit could be summarized by three ‘Os’ — oil, OFW, and OIC,” Naval told Arab News.
The Kingdom supplies much of the oil needed by the Philippines, while it also plays host to some 1.4 million OFWs working in various companies all over the country.
The Philippines has also been seeking the Kingdom’s support for its bid for observer status at the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).
Eli J. Mua, president of the United OFW, added that Aquino should visit Saudi Arabia ahead of other countries because of its importance in the world community.
“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah made a six-week tour of seven countries recently to mobilize international support to achieve progress and restore Arab rights, especially the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent Palestinian state,” Mua said. He added that if Aquino visits Saudi Arabia, he should be able to establish goodwill and rapport with the Saudi leadership.
“It would be good for OFWs if a high-level talk on their behalf could be made by President Aquino,” he said.
He noted that with Aquino’s visit, “we could gauge his commitments to OFWs, paving the way for constructive partnership in nation building and maximize mutual benefits in our relationships.”
Mua noted that Aquino garnered 80 percent of OFW votes in the Kingdom during the last elections.
The OFW leaders, however, lamented the fact that not one OFW Party List representative won a seat in Congress, although William Jao, a candidate of the Partidong Pandaigdigang Pilipino (PPP), won an election to become city mayor of Tubigon in Bohol.
